How Brands can Listen from ad:tech NY

Social media was a hot topic at ad:tech NY last week, however the discussion moved beyond some of the basics (ie. how twitter works) to a holistic discussion on social media strategy and benefits.

One of the key insights from the panel on Social Analysis (we wrote about this panel yesterday also) was about the value of listening (yup – listening vs. plastering your brand messages across social networks).

Facebook can be a great tool to empower and build community among advocates.

He provided an example of the Toyota Prius Community on Facebook. The group ha a lot of discussion topics posted and features an “ask an expert” section where experts answer questions. Perhaps one of the most interesting things about this community is that typically fans are answering each others questions – which demonstrates the true effectiveness of the community.

Is it effective? Well, they have over 45,000 fans (although I don’t know if they acquired them via advertising), so it seems to be working. Based on the activity level of the fan page I would say yes.

Dave Carroll watched as United airlines workers mishandled his guitar. The guitar was broken upon arrival and United refused to pay. Dave was so frustrated that he wrote a song about it – which has had over 6 million views.

United then contacted him and offered to replace the guitar – his response? Too little too late – and he wrote more songs about them.